Daniel's TV Blog

If you are not watching these shows, what's wrong with you? Go put these on you TiVo right now!

• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Thursdays on FX. This show is so outrageous that sponsors are dropping it. In Season 2 Danny DeVito joins the disfunctional cast as the gang gets caught up in crazy politically incorrect situations.
• Project Runway, Wednesdays on Bravo. Season three had 15 new designers and plenty of celebrity judges. Last week was Vera Wang and Ivanka Trump. The outfits are stunning.
• Psyche, Fridays on USA. It's a crime drama. It's a buddy comedy. It's a touching father/son story. It's got everything. Don't miss it.
• Reno 911!, Sundays on Comedy Central. The disfunctional Reno Sheriff's department is back for a fourth season. It's always a laugh riot.
• Who Wants to Be a Superhero?, Thursdays on SciFi. As I've said in earlier posts, this show is hilarious. Watch people willing make themselves look foolish on TV.

This morning I watched Who Wants to Be a Superhero? before work. I laughed my ass off. The super heros were given a task of changing into their superhero outfits in public without being seen and then run across the plaza to the finish line. Right before the finish line they planted a little girl who was "lost" and couldn't find her "mommy". Only four of the ten superheros wavered from their task to help the poor lost girl. Captain Victory not only loudly called the little girl's mommy's name across the plaza, but he then carried her to the nearby security office. What a hero. Unfortunately Nitro G who not only missed the little girl, but he failed to conceal himself while changing, was eliminated. Sadly earlier in the episode the gay superhero was the first to be eliminated. They had a spy interviewing people as to their reasons for being on the show to determine if their hearts were pure. Unfortunately since Levity secret identity, Tobias Trost's profession is making personalize action figures, he was seen to have a conflict of interest and was forced to turn in his super suit. By the way, you too can have your own action figure. Even DJ Manny Lehman has his own action figure: BeatMaster. I was recently quoted as saying Manny Lehman is the second biggest threat to the gay community after George Bush.

The cross-over episode is a long standing tradition in television between the spin-off and the parent. I remember Arnold showing up at The Facts of Life "What chu takin about, Mrs. Garret?" The occasional Golden Girl would visit the Empty Nest neighbors next door (Why do I feel so compelled to mention Kristy McNichol?) Even on the fake spin-off Chief Wiggum, P.I., the Simpsons stopped in for a visit. My biggest gripe with the cross-over is what I call "partial cast syndrome". The Enterprise docks at Deep Space Nine and we only see Captain Picard. How convenient. But in tonight's episode of Stargate SG1 we get at least three major Atlantis cast members: Weir, McKay, and Col. Mac. I'm excited for this episode for three reasons. 1) Daniel Jackson has always wanted to go to Atlantis. 2) Carter and McKay have great chemistry. 3) There is the slightest possibility that Col. Crichton and Col. Mac might make out.

So the SciFi channel has finally entered the reality show genre. Stan Lee and the folks at SciFi have collected 11 self-styled superheros together and will test them in a variety of tasks to determine who is the best superhero. They will be tested in this like self sacrifice and being able to not reveal their secret identity. The winner gets a comic book about their character and gets to star in an original SciFi channel movie. Like a lot of the other summer shows, this is only a six episode commitment so why not watch? Also, there's a gay superhero: Levity. But the Iron Enforcer is my hero. Yum!

Season 2 of 30 Days starts tonight. It's by that guy who ate all those Big Macs and gained weight. Now he puts people in different situations for 30 days and hilarity ensues. Last season there were some good episodes: Muslim, gay, steroids, minimum wage, binge drinker, eco-friendly. Tonight's episode starts with a boarder patroller living with a family of illegal aliens for 30 Days. And of course, hilarity ensues. Later this season Morgan puts himself in prison. There will also be episodes on outsourcing, new age, atheism, and abortion. It's only a six episode commitment so why not watch?

Hooray for Lance Bass, he came out and he's dating Reichen from The Amazing Race. I never really paid much attention to the *N'Sync'er before this year. He's been showing up all over the place. Most notably on Game$how Marathon. I thought he looked very hot in the banana suit. I wish I had kept the Lance Bass bobble-head doll I had on my "crap shelf" in my office at Microsoft. I abandoned it with the plush sumo wrestlers and SW:Episode 1 crap from Taco Bell. But I just bid on one again on eBay today. I hope we see lots more of Lance in the years to come.

It's a sit-com about some guys doing a reality show about the making of a sit-com. Two guys (one of them Billy from Battlestar Galactia, Hi Billy!) get hired to write a new sit-com. The catch is they have to live and work on the set of the sit-com, complete with audience. When they leave the set they are followed around by a video crew. It's very funny. Unfortunately the pilot wasn't picked up. But thanks to the magic of YouTube, the show might go on.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEYCN3hVTYI
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkhESh4ERnM
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD2BF-H3JOI
Recently NBC announced they would pick up the show and produce new content for YouTube. This might turn into a full mid season commitment. Let's hope because all sit-coms suck these days.

Thanks to Drew for sending me this.

I just got my new TV Guide today and it's the annual summer SciFi edition. Tom Whelling is on the cover and he looks terrible. I happy for the new SciFi show starting Tuesday called Eureka. It's about a town of super secret government scientists. Every week some invention goes horribly wrong and things needed to be solved, fixed, or dealt with. It looks like the use the great and standard plot device of "the outsider." This is great for SciFi shows since things always need to be explained to the audience. With the outsider, here a federal marshal, who needs to constantly be informed as to what is going on. It works well. This show looks like a fun and fanciful show, leaving the big action for the Stargates and the extreme drama for Battlestar. Only three months until Battlestar.

Don't miss the last episode of Kathy's hilarious reality show Life on the D-List. The season was far too short but it sure was fun. My favorite moment was Kathy talking with her nephew about his balls. I have to say I would have been a much better weekend guest for Kathy. First I would have showed up with In 'n' Out Burgers for everyone. I would have shared a bottle of Pinot with her parents. I would have screamed for joy when given the gift bag. And hopefully I would have hooked up with one of her gays. Then when Kathy came up to Seattle, I would have insisted on meeting up for drinks or dinner before the show. I really hope she does a season 3.

The special effects on the Stargate shows are just looking better and better. There were some really cool space battles on both shows. The rapidly aging child story is so lame but still effective. It was done on V, the 4400, and Angel. I think I was happiest with the Atlantis premier. On both shows they got their butts kicked but the Atlantis team managed to pull a win together. We also got an explanation of why it took the Wraith so long to get to Atlantis last year. So now, what will they do with the humanized Wraith? What should one do with a colony of amnesiatic men (female Wraith were not effected)? Wow, that sounds hot, where is that planet?

Tonight the Discovery Channel debuts it's new special on global warming. They say no politics, just the facts. This is an obvious comparison to An Inconvenient Truth. I would still like to see that. So I don't plan on having kids so I'm a big proponent of using up the Earth in our life time. Global warming could make our property values in Seattle even more valuable if the desert and low coastal regions become uninhabitable. Of course it could trigger another ice age like in The Day After Tomorrow. That would suck.

She'd be Star Gates! And that's what on tonight. We have the season premier of Stargate: SG1 and Stargate: Atlantis. Two Star Gates! And for the severe couch potato the shows are preceded by two documentary specials: The Science of Stargate and The Search for Atlantis. Oh and don't miss Pysch and Best Week Ever also on. My TiVo will be working overtime.

On SG1 they are going to be dealing with the aftermath of the Ori battle that took out seemingly every ship in the fleet leaving Col. Carter stranded on the Supergate in a spacesuit. On Atlantis the Wraith have figured out a way to find Earth and are heading for a great feast. Or will they be stopped somehow?

This marks the 10th Season of SG1 making it the longest running SciFi series ever. It is passing X-Files which had nine seasons and 202 episodes.

I really miss Arrested Development. My friend Stephanie sends out a trivia question every morning and today's question was about the Bluth's Original Frozen Banana Stand. I started thinking about the show again and how fantastically funny it was. I loved this show because it had my favorite type of humor, the Callback. The same jokes were played out over and over again and each time they were funnier. Every time Lindsey wore the "Slut" shirt, every time the banana stand got destroyed, every time someone cadoodled like a chicken, every time Buster's hand fell off it was funnier than the last. Here are some of my favorite memories of Arrested Development:

• Buster falls from the zip line when his hook falls off.
• Tobias and George Michael destroy tiny town
• Lucille drives through the company party on the pier and can't stop because her car slips on the banana peal
• Mrs. Featherbottom's song about frosting
• Michael gets hit by the Poppins
• Buster gets attacked by a sheep in a photo booth
• Henry Winkler jumps over the shark on the pier
• Justine Bateman's introduction speech to the Bluth company
• And my favorite moment: George Sr., Lucille, and Lindsey all crow like chickens at the same time

Treasure Hunters is no Amazing Race. It's still a fun show for the summer. I'm sure I would have dropped this during the regular season. On the most recent episode one thing became clear: fat people are useless. First the Brown family ran into problems when the much overweight Keith got stuck in the swamp and tore a leg muscle trying to break free. He was last seen leaving in an ambulance. The game for him is over and the other two will have to continue on without him. Meanwhile Team Geniuses were bickering over Sam's asthma and general poor health, translation: he's out of shape. Francis and Charles are presented with an opportunity to ditch Sam and drop him from the rest of the game. I think they should do it. The show ended with them still pondering the decision.

BTW, I'm pulling for the Southie Boys. Yes, the Air Force guys are certainly hot, but the Southies are a mortgage broker and twin firefighters. It's the thing fantasies are made from. That's the straight fantasy equivalent of twin stewardesses. I hope they win.

Season 3 starts tonight on Bravo. I didn't watch any of the two previous seasons. I've heard so much buzz about it I think it's time for me to tune in. I think if I want to continue to be gay, I need to start watching this.

So I first watched the "I Love the..." series a few years back when staying with friends in New Orleans for Halloween. That was "I love the 80's: Strikes Back". It was playing non stop all weekend so we watched quite a bit. This is great background TV, you know, stuff to have on when you are cleaning the kitchen or folding laundry. This week is the debut of the second installment of "I Love the 70's". I really didn't love the 70's, but it fun to see what other people loved about it. With so much pessimism on TV it sometimes great to sit down and just enjoy the love, the 70's love.

VH1 is certainly the home of pop culture, with its "I Love the..." shows. It only seems right to have the World Series of Pop Culture on their network. It's a quiz show with teams of three competing in a spelling type setting. Of course all the teams have gimicky names and outfits, otherwise it wouldn't be interesting television. One of the teams is called PDX503. I'm guessing they are from Portland. One team faces off against another team and then moves to the next round. This could be fun background TV while I sort Legos.

Comedy Central is debuting a bunch of new shows on Sunday. Mind of Mencia and Chappel's Show are back but I'm looking forward to Reno 911! Last season the members of Reno's finest were reinstated after the district attourney who got them all fired was discovered to be a serial murderer. My favorite episode of the series was in last season when Reading Ron comes to visit and he learns the proper terminology of taking exstacy tablets and how not to rescue a cat from the roof. The season ended with a cliffhanger. Trudy marries her death-row inmate boyfriend but will Dangle and Jones make it there with the cake before he is executed? It's thrilling.

Tonight Monk returns (I've never watched it) with a new quirky detective show, Psych. The show is about a very observant slacker who convinces the local police department he is a psychic. Also, he's hot. The call on him to visit crime scenes where he figures it out with the help of his super smart sidekick. Back in the day we used to have a wide variety of high concept "no police" detective shows: three hot women, a guy and his talking car, a smart woman with an imposter for a boss, a spy and a mom, a former model and a streetwise goofball, a hot guy with a mustache in Hawaii, etc. Currently there are no network shows like these. Lots of cop shows, though. Lots of cop shows. I'm very happy to have USA network picking up the lost art of the high concept private detective show.

I was walking through the jungle last night and I saw a blue blinking light in the distance. I walked over to it and found a huge pile of DHARMA Initiative supplies. Bypassing the Peanut Butter, Salad Dressing, and Breakfast Cereal, I went straight for the T-Shirt. You see, I've been wearing the same clothes for 65 days now. The new shirt will give me a needed boost to hike across the island to get Walt back from The Others. Wish me luck!

I can't stand to watch award shows. They are so boring and self congratulatory. Isn't so retarded that award shows can get Emmy awards? It is stupid and I blame the Hawaiians. Everything is their fault this week. I also blame the Hawaiians for the Gina Davis nomination and no nomination for Mary McDonnell. We all know who the best female president on TV is, even if she didn't get re-elected in the finale. Good things include nominations for Arrested Development, The Colbert Report, and Into the West. The best thing is a nomination for South Park: Trapped in the Closet for best animated show. Take that crazy Tom Cruise! Here's the short list so you don't have to filter through the 90 categories like I did:

Comedy Series:
Arrested Development, Fox
Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO
The Office, NBC
Scrubs, NBC
Two and a Half Men, CBS

Drama Series:
Grey's Anatomy, ABC
House, Fox
The Sopranos, HBO
24, Fox
The West Wing, NB

Miniseries:
Bleak House (Masterpiece Theatre), PBS
Elizabeth I, HBO
Into the West, TNT
Sleeper Cell, Showtime

Variety, Music or Comedy Series:
The Colbert Report, Comedy Central
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, Comedy Central
Late Night With Conan O'Brien, NBC
Late Show With David Letterman, CBS
Real Time With Bill Maher, HBO.

Animated Program:
Camp Lazlo: Hello Dolly/Over Cooked Beans, Cartoon Network
Family Guy: PTV, Fox
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: Go Goo Go, Cartoon Network
The Simpsons: The Seemingly Neverending Story, Fox
South Park: Trapped in the Closet, Comedy Central

It's a road trip! It's a history lesson! It's a travel show! No, it's all three! Finally a truly great new show on the History International Channel. I enjoy flipping over to HistoryI now and then, but there are no shows that I have on my TiVo, until now. The cute host Dave takes us on a drive through modern cities and takes us back in time to what it was like in the before time. If you can't afford to travel to Europe this summer, this is a good alternative.